Good sleep.

Greetings mortals,

I have finally decided to awaken from my seemingly eternal sleep.

I have nothing much to say, really, so I guess I'll just post random thoughts collected off the surface of my minute brain:

1. I'm hungry
2. I love Melissa
3. I love sex
4. 2 and 3 are independent events of each other.
5. My awesome bestfriend's birthday is just next week, I'm so 3xcit3d.
6. I think I'll get her that $1,635 LV bag. OF course it's not expensive, nothing's too expensive for my bestest friend.
7. Maybe I'll sell my house too to get her the A|X dress she's been lusting after.

.
.
.
.
.


Okay being the very busy man that I am, I have to stop here for today, and happy waiting till my next entry!







ps: it's obviously Amy speaking, not kaiyi, for he'll never post his love for sex so openly.
Sexy sexy time!

22nd August

For the first time in a long time, the author of this blog sleeps with a smile on his face.

Every Road Pay

Sorry for the drought of blog posts, I've been busy with studying, driving and racing.

Virtually of course.

I'm listening to Mssr LHL speak about ERP and other such related stuff. Not to sound very political but...

Why not just do away with ERP?

Bah. I can't understand some of the policies instituted by the large man up there on the screen.

Anyway, exams are up! Yeah there be witches and dragons in the coming days ahead. Let's see how they'll go.

Human Factors, 19th (that's tomorrow. More luck, please.)
AAFES, 22nd
AES, 25th
ACNS, 27th

Thankfully I'm going to have some sort of break in the middle. Going to go out with Melissa on the 22nd for the fireworks display at Marina Bay after the paper. It'll be a good one I think. Yay.

L is for the way...

Running on just 2 hours worth of sleep on a Monday is not the best thing that could happen to you. Especially if what fueling you happens to be caffeine.

Lots and lots of it. See, I had to finish this video for my group and it isn't the easiest video in the world to edit, so I had to stay up the whole night, wrack my brains and steel my resolve in, well, resolving it. Instead of my budgeted 3 hours I spent damn near 5 hours fiddling with transitions, effects, cutting, splicing, joining and general finagling. Hell, it would have been much easier to teach a lamppost to tie some shoelaces. Upside down.

Exams and lab tests are just around the corner and I need to buck up very fast or there'll be no more left of me to go around once the vultures descend, in the form of lecturers and parents.

OK I really need to sleep. Catcha guys later and so sorry for the ridiculously worked post.

Gram

Goodbye Grandma.

Thank you for the years you spent with us.

Thank you for the stories you shared.

Thank you for your sound, parted advice.

Thank you for the love and care you showed.

Thank you for everything that you showed you cared.

Thank you, too, for all the idiosyncrasies you ever showed.

Now as we see you lying, peacefully in this ornate wooden box, we think back on the times that you spent with us. They weren't always happy times and no doubt many unwelcome events did happen, but you were first and foremost our elder, our grandmother, and for that we respect you forever.

Goodbye Grandma.

We remember you forever.

A Day To Remember

It's probably too late to be regretting what I should or should not have done. The inevitable's coming, be in no doubt about that. It's just a matter of time. Days, rather.

Her right lung has already filled with fluid and her left is barely functioning - just down to one-fifth of its total capacity. My grandmother is one strong lady but even Mother Nature has her way at times and this unfortunately is one of them. She is completely dependent on oxygen because the doctors tried to take her off it for 2 hours today and it went downhill from there, so they put her back on.

She can't eat because she's already so weak and can barely breathe. Just 4 mouthfuls is enough to make her exhausted. Sleeping is the only way the body knows how to conserve what little precious remaining power there is and that's exactly what it did. To that effect it has slurred her speech and has made her totally unable to finish more than 6 sentences before running out of puff at the 7th.

I guess after 90 years, your body simply does not want to work any more. It's seen its fair share of abuse and care over the years but no matter what you do, us being humans, it all comes to an end one day. It's never in our psyche to believe that we can fall one day and never get back up again but this is exactly what's happening to my grandma now, right in front of my very eyes.

Whichever holy being is up there, I strongly urge you to send your messenger down and deliver the final rites. It would mean so much to us. Please.

My friend who was

I am fed up. Utterly, completely fed up. I felt have pain in this friendship for too long and it's time I did something about it.


I'm not going to care any more. I cannot waste my time on someone who does not understand that I do.

You have ceased to affect me now.

A letter to the Man Above

Dear To-All-Entities-Considered-Holy,

I'll keep this short, because you guys probably get stuff like this a million times a day. How you keep track I have no idea because even with all the organizers in the world, I couldn't either.

My grandmother does not have long left. We all know this - and you guys should too. With what remaining time she has left among the human race, please grant her all the happiness you could possibly give to anyone, ever. Absolve her of her transgressions, violations and shortfalls so that when she finally does go, it'll be a moment of realisation to those that surround her. For we know that if you guys do that, she'll be in a place that is free of all Earthly sins and pain and that she'll be happy ever after, for eternity.

Thanks fellas. Hope to hear from whoever does your emails up there.

I love the whole world

I shall not beat about the bush on this. Because it concerns how I feel about something and ultimately, something which is close to my heart.

I cannot maintain my composure on this situation because it would be tantamount to lying to the feelings which run deep.

For such a long time I have given chance after chance but somehow nothing ever seemed to materialise. I am not one to grasp a modicum of a chance to end it and I never will. But as all humans go we are, after all, created with emotions and feelings which infinitesimally influence our actions and temperament. And I declare that as of today, I shall be giving no quarter any more. That is my final decision and try as you might shaken I shall be not.

How do I look like to you? Am I a person of comparatively lesser importance then any others? Or are you simply an individual with such morals that each time you encounter something like that, you demonstrate an entire lack of compassion and simply turn the other way. To put it very simply, it makes me feel like shit. Time and again it has been in me to forgive you, to think that all this was merely a veneer of your true self, that what you had underneath was a greener, more mercifully tender side. I guess it's a little bit different now. It makes me think myself a fool to have unconditionally given you chances all these years.

You have been compassionate - concerned, even - these years and those were times which I enjoyed most. We have enjoyed many pleasant times together and it was then which I believed that we'd be pals forever. But why did you turn around so fast and leave me addled? Why this change that too changed me? Why can't you see what you're doing to me?

Friends, they say, last forever. Friends stand up for you when you're in the deepest muck ever imaginable. Friends share your tears, your smiles, your frowns, your sarcasm, your idiosyncrasies, your sadness, your love, joy and laughter. If it ever came to it I'd unhesitatingly lay down my life for my best friends because I know they'd do it for me too.

I wonder if you ever feel this way about me.

P.S. Thanks to the two guys (you know who you are) who talked me through this. You guys come second to none. As always.

****

Do watch this video. It's so lovely and uplifting. It almost brought tears to my eyes, it did. It's Discovery Channel's new mashup and it's the best I've seen in my life.

Random

Do you know how many books can keep you alive for a few months? Well a million, if you consider Homer's The Iliad, which I've just bought along with a few thousand others. I mean you'd buy Clarkson's books if he was an author you liked too. Just like people like James Patterson or Tom Clancy or whomever suits your fancy this week, I like Jeremy Clarkson. No coincidence there that he's the main presenter for Top Gear. Extremely witty and quick thinking, he's the backbone of the program, the backing of things. His metaphors are the stuff of legend and his similes are simply, utterly brilliant. No other word for it.

I wanna be Clarkson. No. I want his job.

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper

Peter Piper did no such damn thing. He was on dope.

Anyway, how has life been. I know how mine has been because it basically is stuffed full with so much nonsense and rubbish that it makes a garbage truck look like a Fiat 500. In pink.

But like every Fiat 500, there are good and bad points to it. Chiefly the good points, because it's such a darn good drive every time you hop in. And one of the good points I will mention is about my friend, A.

A is a friend of mine ever since I started school and we've enjoyed a cordial friendship over the past 2 years. But recently we've started to talk more and be more genial and for lack of a better word, be friendlier to each other. We've had our share of bickering and misunderstanding between each other. So it's surprising that despite our rather strong personalities, we've survived. And I can tell you that A is one of the friends whom I can sincerely call close and immediate. A true friend in every sense of the word and I can safely bet that not many people can lay claim to be that. In my eye A is one of truly unique people whom I'm more than fortunate to be acquainted with. Let there be more of this.

Enough of the soppy commentary. Did anyone see the British Grand Prix? I tell you, lap 4 of the race was the most exciting chiefly because Britain overtook Finland and Hamilton shot to the front of the pack in one decisive pass past teammate Kovalainen. Not to mention the 6 utterly spectacular spins Massa performed for the cameras every 5 laps. I don't blame the poor Brazilian. The track was sopping wet no thanks to the atrocious weather at Silverstone. And something was wrong with his car's setup too. He only needed to touch the throttle a wee bit more coming out of the corners to make his car spin. Terribly odd. I'm sure everyone else was doing that but only he was the one doing a Swan Lake.

Let's have more of that too.

Happy 4th of July and chicken rice

Bah I've been so lazy to blog these few days. Must be the horrid weather I think. Everytime I go out, I feel like I'm breathing through a sponge and that a small weather system must have formed inside my clothes. It's beastly. Honestly I think it would be cooler inside a blast furnace at full power. With me inside an anorak. With double insulation.

It's 4th of July! Happy Independence Day USA! Sadly our single day of rejoice for our beloved country is a couple of months away. And I maintain that that is probably the only day I feel proud of Singapore, the rest of them being spent on bitchings and grumblings about high COE prices, endless fare hikes and that expensive chicken rice which used to be $2 a plate. Enough is enough, I say. It's time we petitioned the Government and make them give us cheap chicken rice. This preposterous increment in food prices cannot be tolerated.

Bah I'm just rambling here cos I dunno what else to say. Plenty of things that I could talk about, naturally but I can't be bothered to announce them to the world because 1. no one could be bothered and 2. the $2 plate of chicken rice will still be $3.50.

God Save US.

Who the fuck are Ferrari

Glory, glory, McLaren,
Glory, glory, McLaren,
Glory, glory, McLaren,
As the Macs go marching on, on, on.

Just like Alain Prost in days gone by
We'll keep the Silver flags flying high
You've got to see yourself from far and wide
You've got to hear the V-8s roar with pride

McLaren! McLaren!
We're the boys in Silver and we're on our way to Silverstone
Silverstone! Silverstone!
We're the famous McLaren and we're going to Silverstone
Silverstone! Silverstone!
We're the famous McLaren and we're going to Silverstone

There you go, Ferrari. How about some silverware for the finish, eh? Let's hope Lew gets his act together this weekend and we see a great spectacle of proper motor racing at its best. It's your homeground Lew, so stop thinking about the next girl you're going to bed and focus on winning the damn race.

Don't forget the offer Ron made you if you won that 08 and 09 season. 

Exams are over!

So the dreaded 3 horsemen of the Apocalypse (yes yes there are more than 3) have passed and now I only dread their results. Please horsemen, give me a chance. I'm only 19.

Went to The Adelphi for the first time to Jaben to try on their sex toys aka aural sex toys aka earphones. If you guys don't know, Jaben is to the audio community here what Cold Storage is to the supermarkets in Singapore, except with exclusivity thrown in. They stock a huuuuge range of audio products and brands and it's no exaggeration to mention that they really do know their stuff well. Obviously they don't go right down to the nitty gritty technical details but they do know how to help you make a purchase. AND I think I'm gonna get a pair of sexphones from them, the Koss Portapros. I'm deliberating between them and the beyerdynamic DTX800 but the Koss appeals so much more on price and dynamicism. It's just totally unbeatable for that price and they look oh-so-good. Thanks Jerold for turning me into an audiophile yes, albeit not as insane as you.

Oh and they throw in free food every Friday. Go visit at 1 Coleman Street, 04-16 The Adelphi or simply visit their website. To some, it's a porn site. To others, pure listening heaven or as they call it, "Audio Salvation".

Oh and I introduced Jerold to Timbre today. Went up to Armenian Street and watched from the outside as 53A performed yet again. The minute we crossed the street to Armenian I could hear Sara doing their routine of Stop and Stare again, the same song we heard when Audrey, Yiming and I headed there after a failed attempt at MoS. That song now reminds me of that day we went there and the atmosphere at accompanied it which is pretty nostalgic and just captures the essence of that outing so well. Hope it happens again. Ah.

Koss Portapros. The ultimate in aural sex. Sort of. Almost.

eman Street 1Oh
04-16 The Adelphi

Blather

"Echelon 2-9, fifteen thousand heavy, come around to two-one-seven, maintain flight level three-eight-five."
"Roger Sentry, coming round now. Where's the sonofabitch?"
"Ah, he's, ah, at two-one-zero at four-two miles"
"Fuck him. What the hell's he doing? He's been there for the past hour."
"No idea, Echelon. He's been keeping pace at that exact speed and position. We're working on it"
"Damn well better hurry up. If he shoots one more of those things the gloves are off, man."
"Careful Echelon. We don't know what this new stuff can do. It's totally untested."
"Yeah but I don't give a shit. Thing is, he's - oh shit he launched! He launched! Fucker just fired! Fuck!"
"Echelon, break, break, break. Vector one-zero-five, deploy chaff. Echelon. Echelon, do you copy?"
"Echelon, Sentry. Do you copy?"
"Echelon. Do you copy?"
"Echelon. Do you copy?"
"Echelon come in, this is Sentry."

*****

My right ankle's busted man. And it felt worse than previous days. Monday when it happened, everything was fine, even if it was a bit painful. But today, 4 days after I went running, it simply became worse. Like it's completely broken, though of course that's not the case.

I need some ligaments!

Exams are going to be over tomorrow and none too soon, thank goodness. Even though I know exams are a way of testing yourself and seeing how much you know yadda yadda but hell, who likes examinations?

We've only got 4 Minutes To Save The World

"So, Mr Sunderland, have you made your decision?"
"I'm afraid I haven't, sir. Could I please have more time?"
"You have had most of the day to ponder it. That's quite enough."
"But the mechanisms for it aren't up yet. It would take me some time to rectify it."
"That's your problem. This triviality delays me."
"But it isn't finished! This is a critical time now. It's unprecedented in what we do here and it entails deeper deliberation."
"You do understand the consequence of this, Mr Sunderland."
"No, please sir, just give me three hours. Just three is all I ask. Please sir. Don't do this."
"I'm sorry Henry, but that's just 3 hours we don't have. Sean."
"Yes sir."
"NO!"

* * * *

Exams are so near, so near. I wished I had more time. But I don't, so Kai Yi, go for it.



We've only got four minutes to save the world.

Top Gear July Issue

As close to sex as car geeks can come to.


Exactly who can resist the sight of 3 of the most powerful supercars on the cover of the most titillating magazine ever? That'll be 3 Veyrons on Top Gear magazine, please.


Oh and that large box there with "Summer Supercar Festival"....oh boy.

Firefox 3...DOWNLOADED!

IT'S HERE!


I'VE GOT IT DOWNLOADED!


THE CURE FOR CANCER! YES!


THE BIG O

Firefox 3

Latest update from the frontlines is that the Mozilla site is down and no one is getting anything from there. Nothing useful to be learned from that quarter then.

Apparently some industry experts are cautioning against rushing to download the hallowed FF3. Mostly because of bugs and security fixes, they say. But I don't care. I should care, but I don't care.

IT'S FIREFOX 3 MAN IT'S LIKE THE CURE FOR CANCER

Till then, we shall wait.


www.spreadfirefox.com

www.mozilla.com

Download Firefox 3 Day!

Probably the most important browser release of 2008 would be that of Firefox 3, which is slated for release at 12am 17th June US Time, which translates into probably 1am on the 18th for us.

So for those of you who abhorr the Dark Side (i.e. IE), wish to repel those subversive demons wanting to gain entry into your hallowed computer via a loophole (i.e. IE), and want to be seen as savvy and understanding and safe and NOT to follow mainstream (i.e. IE), then you just have to get yourself a copy of Firefox 3, the latest browser from the people who know what to make of them.

Bolero

Seeing as things are a bit quieter now (2 in ze morning), I shall blog...

Had dinner with Amy just now. Thanks babe for helping me pay for my dinner cos I was flat broke and that's quite embarrassing. Shall return the favour. I was bloody full because we had shitloads of desserts to eat. In fact, I think no breakfast for me tomorrow. Hmm =) . We walked around a fair bit and listened to songs from her phone. Have yet to return your notes. Remember.


What the hell, the ending of Lost Season 3 is mucho disappointing. I have Season 4 and I'm looking forward to watching it but WHAT THE HELL. Jack becomes drunk and Kate falls in love and marries another guy? Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't Kate supposed to be the one who was supposedly to be madly in love with him on the island? The way I see it, Jack will be the next to go. As in John Locke go. Mad. And I think all those flashes of themselves back in civilisation? Ah. Herein lies the confusion.

People wonder whether they had been rescued. In actual fact yes they have and those flashbacks to their lives in civilisation aren't flashbacks, but the main part of the story. The parts that are on the island are the flashbacks. Get it? It's in reverse.





I've just realised that my life isn't as shitty as I'd thought it was. Some people's lives are in pretty bad shape too, some more so. Well as they say, your life is in your hands. You have the POWER to make things happen. Suits me just fine.

I'm a father of two

So I met up with my Music Appreciation group today to complete our project on Monsieur Ravel. I lied. I actually met - out of the remaining three - Melissa, who was nice and uncomplaining enough to come down at 10 to City Hall. They thought I was kidding when I texted them the day before to come down so early. Must have mistyped, him - should have been 1pm! Sorry guys, I know I have should informed you all sooner. Muh bad.

Anyway we went to Starbucks at City Hall where I Melissa had a hazelnut latte and I a dinky doppio espresso, which in actual fact is nothing more than coffee grounds with a teaspoon of water thrown in. Effing bitter shit for $4.20. Sonofabitch. We managed to complete a good bit of the powerpoint slides before Simon (minus Alvin and Theodore) came to join us from Jurong West. Didn't know chipmunks lived that far west =) . Cuthbert, sigh, ultimate. I guess he kinda forgot that I had texted him yesterday and therefore he had no idea we were meeting. It was great fun anyway - we managed to complete everything. Hope you guys can pronounce all that French. If not, learn French. Not that I do.

Ha ha XD .


Oh here's a Wikipedia article you all should read. Gilbert screenshot this the minute it was changed because the second I went to view that entry, it was changed to its rightful state, a.k.a. with Italy being champions...




All together now: GLORY, GLORY, ZAMBIA...

Sigh

Sigh.

Sigh.

I'm starting to think that it wasn't such a good idea after all to have __________________.

Sure it's fun when you do it, but when you stop.

Everything stops.

You feel exhausted.

Sure you were the one who initiated it. But should you have followed through?

It's dangerous when you do it, without necessary precautions. You might get ___________.

Or something worse.

You might regret that you ever did it.

Things might happen. You'll start to blame yourself.

For not thinking through it properly.

And you can't reverse it.

Your life might forever be changed by the reckless decision you made.

So the next time you think about doing it, stop.

And think.

Am I making the right decision?

Patrick's POP

Viper Company! Hoo-rah!



Parents coming through! Parents coming through!


So dear Pat's parents couldn't turn up for their son's POP, hence Gilbert and I filled in the roles of paternal leaders instead. It was pretty odd to be among the hordes of parents waiting to see their son through this very special time in his life: a time where the men are distinguished from the boys, and the weak weeded out from the strong.


His passing-out parade.


I was quite happy to be there for him, since we've all been friends since the dinosaurs were babies and Jesus was still a small boy. And I'd like to think he'd do the same for us too. Okay enough of the soppy shit, let's get down to the real business. PHOTOS. Huazhi, James Tan, Gedeon and some other Cat High guys were there too but we didn't manage to take pictures with them. Mucho apologies guys, but still...CONGRATS ON POP-ing!

Patrick and David Hauw in the photo. Can see?

Gilbert with Patrick. My camera could not detect Patrick's face. Presumably he has none.

I with Patrick

Some random fat guy, Patrick and Gilbert. Again my camera could not detect Patrick's face.

Hamsum guy sial

Chick 1

Chick 2

Eh last two pictures were Patrick's idea. We would have taken more if my darned photo-capturing device hadn't run out of extra juice. There were like 5 more chicks to take photos of.

Funny pics

Indian Police Force...NOT

Americans do not understand geography






Just hilarious

Thanks Gilbert for the laughter that brightened my day

New MP3 player!

Many thanks to Audrey for looking at the Creative Zen and deciding to tell me to buy it. She did notice I kept having to delete songs from my overloaded player and was nice enough to help me buy it - albeit refurbished - and I'll soon have a new mp3 player! Thank you so much for all that :)

Now I can safely junk that Zen V Plus which I have been babying for nearly 2 years now. The reason why I wanna get rid of it is because 1. the screen is dying (dumbass OLED. I TEACH YOU HOW TO FABRICATE IT LA COS I'M DOING IT TOO), 2. the screen is too small, 3. it's got a pathetic battery life. Strange then, seeing as I also did buy it using my own money. Ah but well it's inconsequential. Stuff gets thrown away.


*****


START STUDYING MR WONG, START STUDYING OR YOU'RE GONNA GET FUCKED DURING MST

Camps...zipped and over

Finally...finally

All my camps are....wait for it...OVER!


Not to say that I'm enjoying the fact that they are over. I really relished them while I could and wish I could relive them over again. But ah well that's why the saying "All good things come to an end" exists. So that's what you get. And do pardon the disjointed and perhaps even meaningless sentences that I may sporadically eke out during this long essay that I'm about to write.

Aviation. Not a word you'd associate with camps but we did have one and it was pretty spectacular. Not to say that we didn't have our fair share of major and minor fuck ups but overall I think we performed pretty well for planning a major camp for the first time. I hope no one feels badly toward the camp because plenty of people did put in Herculean effort to make everything come true, so here's a huge JOB WELL DONE to everyone who made it possible. Especially to Edwin, Lina, Wai Siong, YM - you people were nothing short of brilliant. No matter what you say, you people made the camp run. Not exactly like clockwork, but something like that.

As for me, bah. I think that although I did my best to contribute, somehow that didn't seem enough to me. I'm not calling for a second chance but somehow it seemed that even though I was part of the camp committee, my position was diminished for whatever reason. Not exactly sure where I went wrong, ehh but well, could have been worse!


SP JCC camp! Now it was my turn to have fun. We made camp at 1230 on Monday, which was just one day after Aviation Camp. I think at most I had slept just 8 hours - should have been more, like 10 I think. Met up with Audrey first where we had lunch, then after some admin work the group came together and I met my new, eh clubmates for the first time. No surprise that I was the only year 3 there. God, did that make me feel old.

During the camp, we had to come up with a cheer plus a flag. Not going into the boring details of how we made both, but I will say that it was strange that we thought both of ours was going to be worse off than the rest, but which in reality was totally different. Our flag in fact looked better than the rest and skit - even though it was totally last minute, stole the show and got 2nd place.

We had an encore.

4 encores to be precise. We would have honoured the 4th if I hadn't run out of lyrics to chant about, my bad. But whatever it is, Ding Liang, Jack (spam material and cannon fodder, lol!), Kin Phang, Wei Sheng, Sheng Yang, Jing Xiu, Yvonne, Meiying, Zachary and not to mention our fantastic facilitator Audrey (promotion, cough) were simply brilliant and made the skit a true success in every sense of the word.

I could not have been in a better group.

Camps, Camps, Camps

The start of 6 days' worth of consecutive camp days. SPAVC camp followed by SP JCC camp straightaway after that. What could be more tiring or taxing. Sigh Audrey, I dunno what possessed me to let you psycho me into joining JCC =) Ah never mind...I'm sure we'll have fun at the camp and I'll make some new friends. First things first though and I have to make sure the SPAVC camp runs smoothly on my side so that no one shall doubt my abilities. I think it's about time I showed myself to be more than able to handle such a task.

At least some proper R&R is in order after Camp Hell Week. LOTR concert!

Such a day...

Actually, if you listen to James Blunt's songs very closely and pay attention, they're really quite emo in a way. That is of course you're feeling kind of depressed that day and you want some sort of company on your emo bus journey home. Oh the humanity of it all.


Hmm....


Well Yiming's plane is taking a super long time to build. I have just finished constructing the cockpit and now I'm on to fitting the wings and main body on, plus a few little sundry items on the side. Suddenly it's all so complicated and very intricate, but by no means exhausting or mundane to construct. Hope to finish it in a reasonable time or it'll be kind of sucky to like, hand someone a birthday gift a coupla weeks after. Nah.

Not been able to go out these few weeks partly due to my inadequate planning and partly also due to the stresses tasked to my group for FYP. It's seriously mind numbing. That plus so much work from school and the stress from the upcoming MST is giving me that pressure-cooker syndrome so prevalent in secondary school, pre-O Levels. But no matter. This time it shall be overcome. Like all other times. Ehh...

LOTR concert and 2 camps coming up! I can't wait. For them to end. Not really. I'm pretty much looking forward to all 3 happening, especially the LOTR one. The first time I forked out so much money to watch that. Thanks to Audrey of course. Partly it was because of her urging that I paid that stratospheric sum for a ticket. Couldn't blame her though, those were the unsold ones, the cheap ones were all gone...

Hmm...

Trouble is her only friend and he's back again
Makes her body older than it really is
And she says it's high time she went away
No ones got much to say in this town
Trouble is the only way is down, down, down

As strong as you were
Tender you go
I'm watching you breathing
For the last time
A song for your heart
But when it is quiet
I know what it means
And I'll carry you home
I'll carry you home

I think that it is true. For a long time I never believed it, because I was blinded to everything but the most poignant and painful. But I have seen it and I believe now. It is here and it has shown me The Way.

Please let it be.

Final Theory Test....PASSED!

I was on Youtube watching Simon Cowell puke his guts out at rubbish contestants on Britain's Got Talent while mostly everyone else was studying. I fell asleep for 2 minutes during the test. I never studied a single page of the booklet....

But....


I PASSED!!! WHOOP DEE DO!

Cadillac CTS-V round Nurburgring

One more Nurburgring record for the books and this time its courtesy of the Cadillac CTS-V. Driven by driver John Heinricy it managed to break the 8 min barrier in a time of 7m 59.32s around the Nordschleife of the Nurburgring. Impressive for an American brand which had a reputation for barge-like cars with equally sloshy handling, but even more impressive when you factor in the fact that the car - besides a fire suppression system, harness bar and six-point seatbelt - the CTS-V was completely stock. Which says much about the type of tire fitted to the CTS-V and the enormous 6.2l V8 under the bonnet which produces 550bhp and 550lb ft of torque. Most of all, it's testimony to the tremendous amount of effort GM's engineers have put into this car to put it in contention with the likes of Mercedes' AMG and BMW's M Division.

Bring on the Germans.

Lotsa

Certain sign that someone is suffering from the irrecoverable effects of stress: he starts listening to phantom Jay Chou songs on his Winamp.



-SLAP-SLAP-SLAP-SLAP-SLAP-SLAP-SLAP-SLAP-SLAP



Normal programming has been resumed.


It has been so busy these past few weeks that even with my mobile modem to be able to access the Net anywhere, I just don't have the inclination to do any sort of writing after I'm done with my project stuff. But for you loyal readers out there (which I know I do have quite a few) I do humbly beg your kind understanding and forgiveness for leaving you without juicy updates from my world for the past few weeks.

BMTC visit tomorrow! Now there's an interesting tidbit. Due to some anal directive by the Education Ministry to make sure poly students have all the exposure they need to prepare them for army (and apparently JC students have all gone through National Service already. Naturally...), we have been selected to go to BMTC Pulau Tekong for some pre-Freshmen Orientation. No files or free ice cream to be handed out but you can be damn sure there'll be free mosquito bites and bundled broken ankles. Thanks to this completely pointless and frankly utter time-waster, our debate preparation - another source of my constant misery now - will have to be pushed to Saturday.

School's just fantasstic sometimes. Asstic. Fan-ass-tic.

It's too easy

It's all too easy to compliment, praise, flatter someone's work. But it's also another really easy deal to simply brush his work off and dismiss it as the irresponsible and perhaps even mindless chatter of a wandering mind.

So tell me, is it?

......

Stressed.

Pissed.

Stressed.

Fucked up.

Doubly fucked up.

Annoyed.

Agitated.

Desperate.

Irritable.

* * *

AAAAAAAAAAAAARRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Musings

I'm a bit worried.

Today we were just discussing "The Dirty Dozen" in Human Factors class. Basically what those "Dozen" are are these 12 things that could happen to you in the workplace that might generally affect your mental state and hence your good judgment and situation awareness. We were talking about fatigue and stress. Specifically, stress that you give yourself and the fatigue that may arise from its relatives.

And I think I might genuinely have a case of fatigue and stress-related behavioral disorders. None of that shoot-em-up stuff that arises when a man cracks and begins gunning random fellas down, but rather more subtle stuff.

When people undergo stress that pushes them over some limit, they begin to exhibit changes in their behavior. In our handout today, we were shown some causes and signs of stress. Most worryingly to me were the signs listed, because I've realised that for a long while, I've been exhibiting some of them. I'm fully aware that I have changed, but I never knew how until I read this article. Some signs are:

• Errors in judgement. They occur more frequently
• Personality changes, including increased irritability
• Memory loss becomes noticeable

Well, sounds like I am suffering from some form of stress. Now for the signs of fatigue:

• Reduced attention
• Becoming less aware of performance
• Reverting to old habits
• Development of a "don't care" attitude
  

I don't fully undergo the full manifestation of these signs nor do they manifest themselves all the time but I think I do suffer from at least some form of fatigue and stress. I have noticed too that recently I have difficulty forming coherent sentences in speech. I have the ideas in my head but somehow when I open my mouth to tell someone the thoughts suddenly swirl around in a big whirlpool, disappear into the vortex and I have to pause to recollect. It does make me look kind of slow, imo, having to pause mid-sentence to collect your thoughts.

It doesn't stop there either. Recently it seems like I can't even form thoughts about discussions at all. People talk about this particular subject and seem to have so much to say on it whereas I just sit there like I'm some mannequin. I have opinions of my own, sure, and I want to voice them out but somehow I cannot think of the words I want to put them in. It's almost as if there's a massive void somewhere in my head that my thoughts have to cross, but they never make it.


I have to stop this, or I will go mad. Very soon.

Top Gear May Issue

In all the things that greet you on a Sunday morning on your dining table, the least expected would be a brand-spanking-new, hot off the press, steaming May issue of Top Gear magazine. But that's precisely what I got.


And here it is. In all its splendour.

I'm probably the first person in Singapore to get this. OK maybe not the first, but definitely one of the first. Hell, April isn't even over yet. All thanks to my sister.

Haha.

Timbre

So YM, Audrey and I never did go to MoS in the end. The queue was so long it would have made a dragon look over its shoulder.

We went to Timbre @ The Substation instead (photos in picture gallery).

What had happened was that we had decided to go for this party that SP had organised at MoS at Clarke Quay. Some sort of back-to-school-get-drunk-get-laid party for the young and promiscuous. Not exactly but it was a back to school party. Anyway, we reached CQ after dinner at Central and promptly realised that we would never make it in because the queue to get in was of immense proportions - wide and long both. We decided that waiting was out of the question so we walked around Liang Court for a while before having icecreams, thanks to Audrey. And then we decided that we didn't come all the way down, dressed in our Friday best to not go somewhere.

After much standing around looking like gormless idiots, we went to Timbre on the sage advice of my Er Jie.

Now I must say that I'm not the clubbing sort, but I was feeling particularly excitable tonight partly because I was in the partying mood and partly because this is one of the first times I'm out with friends to such places. We hit Timbre and since Alvin (band name "53A", with the white and red guitars, go see him on Fridays) was there performing I thought it would be good to get ahold of him during the break and see whether he could secure a table for us, bypassing the queue. Booya. We didn't get that so we queued and within 5 minutes got a table.


And the drinks. Phew boy expensive, but I suppose it's standard price. $14 for mine, $15 for Audrey's and $10 for YM's. As usual Mr Tay was feeling pretty gutless so he ordered a Red Bull Punch while I had a Lychee Freeze and Audrey a Martini.


I'd say Timbre's a really nice bar/restaurant to hang out if you've the stomach for loud, blasting music and good drinks. It's not a club where you go and PARTEH AND MAKE HOUSE ROCK WITH BLASTING MUZEEK. It's more laidback and generally a very nice place to spend a night out. The bands there are good and from what I heard last night, very popular as well, judging from the applause they received. Or at least 53A is. Comprising of Sara Wee, Alv, a bassist and drummer whose names I don't know, they used to play jazz tunes only but have now expanded their repertoire to include contemporary pop tunes, acoustic modern rock and blues. I want to go back there and listen The Goodfellas play because apparently they're one of the sensations there. You must go there at least once for the music, if not the ambience (if you're the stay at home type, forget it). Go there, you won't regret it.




Gilbert and I have already made a deal. Go out with wallets and pockets full, come home broke as shit.

Mobile for Real

The sounds of Youtube never sounded better. How do you like it? Surfing in the comfort of your home - or perhaps aboard the bus on a long trip?


It's reality for me. I can do that :)


I've just signed up for a 2 year, $15 a month Broadband on Mobile plan from Singtel. It's very simple. Once past all the frivolities and formalities, you'll get a portable modem that you plug into your laptop computer. From there it will access the Net for you via a 3G network where available. Since 3G has literally blanketed Singapore ever since its inception, what that means is that you can surf on the go. And it's real.


Because I'm blogging on my way home now.

Through the Fire and Flames and everything else

Sorry Gilbert for bastardizing that title but I think it's tastefully done don't you think?

Whew I have just finished creating SPAVC's new blog. Not too shabby a job but it definitely needs some sandpapering, especially needing some graphics and little other tidbits here and there and that would make it almost perfect, if a bit dull.

And I've just realised that Firefox 3 Beta 5 screws up its own built-in dictionary. Some words that I had used on the virgin post on the club blog were obviously wrong yet the browser didn't make a single attempt to draw a red line under them to indicate that they were incorrect. And now it has just drawn a line under "didn't" to show me that such a contraction is obviously wrong, that the computer knows better and that I should shoot myself. Comforting.

School's starting tomorrow! New challenges! New work! New encounters! New shit! I believe I'll weather it through because as you can see from my obvious and expressive outburst of newfound enthusiasm for school, it shall guide me through my darkest hours. Though I do have a flash on my phone camera.



Things are looking up in general. I haven't felt this good in a while. And I do owe Joyce a huge thank you for doing what she did. It's an indeed warm and genuine gesture on her part to have helped me partly solve a problem that had existed. I'm not sure whether that problem is gone but since she wants to help me, I've no qualms about facing it. Goodness me since when had I become emo?

School work (in that order)

Gosh I'm so tired from all that work. Boss has asked me to stay one more week till the end of the month because apparently it takes two weeks for my resignation letter to be processed.

How come they can't just kick me out now and SHOW ME THE THE MONEY?

Oh right, the money. Apparently that's not gonna be instant either because they have to process the claims for 3 weeks or so before I get to see a nice large stack of blue Yusoff Ishaks in my wallet. They said that I am a part timer and hence need to wait a bit longer for your pay compared to your full-time counterparts. That plus the fact that they pay all their part timers in cold hard cash. Well I don't mind working an extra week. I just get more money. Thank you TCC for making my decision easier whether to buy that pair of red Ferrari-themed Pumas or a classic black-and-white. And oh plus a couple of extra Nintendo DS Lite games too.

It's not going to be long before I start school proper. This week isn't counted as much since it's the first week and the lecturers are all still on holiday rather than the students. But I have gotten a taste for school and so far it's looking quite manageable. The lectures are straightforward and engaging and the work isn't tough. Well again, that leaves much to be said as yet.



Life's looking up for now.

Random

Nope don't have any idea what I am supposed to be blogging about either, hence the name.

I think that the reason why I'm so uptight over this all is that I think I want things to come to a close, never mind the consequences or the problems it might create. I just want it to come to an end, or at the very most to seek some sort of compromise between us. I can't keep giving in every time something like this crops up. I know something has to give but I can't be the one who always backs down, you know? I know you want this to work out as much as I do, and this isn't the way to go about doing it. It does take two hands to clap, to coin the old cliche. Could you be my other hand?


First day of school happened today. It struck me that SP really does have a shitload of students to feed. I was heading to the bridge with all the freshies around me. Seriously damn a lot. No major lectures today but you can be sure they'll all start right back up starting from tomorrow. And I honestly believe that I'm going to enjoy this semester and indeed, this year.

Show him what terror really means.

Musings

Why is it I feel what I feel toward you? Why is it that I can't break away from this vicious circle of mistrust and deceit that I feel has been levelled against me. I can't help thinking I've been betrayed. If I am right - and I solemnly swear and hope I am not - then you have tricked and deceived me with cunning and savagery. If that were so, you would have hit home the final nail in my coffin. Because I don't know what do to if that were to happen.

Don't assume that he who seeks to comfort you now, lives untroubled among the simple and quiet words that sometimes do you good.

Working @ Anchorpoint

So yesterday was the start of working at Anchorpoint, which to me is off the coast of Mars, which is in turn situated off the meridian of Jupiter. To wonder why they I  - out of the gazillion employees that TCC has - got chosen to staff this brand new outlet is a mystery because 1) I hardly live anywhere near there and 2) I've never been to Anchorpoint. Obviously these two factors don't matter to TCC because regardless, they've shoved me there.

And I've broken a glass on the first day on the job. =D The boss doesn't know about it. Shh. 

The best thing I think about working there is that the staff are all generally very nice people who genuinely want to welcome you. When I first walked into the outlet I was greeted by the very nice manager and the service captain, plus the other staff who worked there. Stark contrast indeed to my former outlet at Bugis where most of the staff there are pretty anal about everything and perpetually seem to have cattle prods shoved up their behinds. With the electricity turned on. Full. Constantly. It's such a pleasure to be working there.

But I've decided to quit after the end of next week, as per my resolution couple of days back. I honestly don't think I can cope with holding two jobs and a hectic year all rolled into one. It's going to stress me out and that's not right. Joyce also wants to quit soon and I think she's doing that right about now. I wanted to transfer to her outlet but I think they mightn't allow it because the Anchorpoint outlet just opened 2 days back and they're seriously understaffed. 

Bah.

April 6th, 1989

Yep, I'm nineteen. 19. Neunzehn jahr alt. Last teen year.

I feel so old. 

*     *     *

First off, a really, really sincere and huge THANK YOU to people who have wished me a happy 19th birthday. In absolutely no order of merit:

1. My entire family, Taylor included. The lunch was great :)

2. Gilbert, Jerold and Patrick, the 3 closest guys I'll ever get to know

3. Amy, my best friend for forever

4. Audrey and Yiming, my best friends from poly

5. Michael Cheng/Richard, the guy with the best audio gear

6. Bernard Leong, Web 2.0 advisor extraordinaire

7. Tulip a.k.a. Flower Power, my one-stop source for manga/anime knowledge

8. Joyce, my favourite phone companion and nicest person in the world

9. Lina, She-Who-Does-Backhands-Like-The-Back-Of-Her-Hand

10. Hui Mei, She-Who-Sells-Clothes-Via-My-Blog-(Only)

If I've missed you out, that was by pure accident and I thank you for allowing me to experience one of the best birthdays I've had in recent years. For the past 2 years my birthday celebrations have been a bit crap. Several factors were to blame, no doubt, but I'm 19 now and that's all that matters. One year left to leaving the teen fraternity and couple more to the inability to be absolved of crimes committed, not that I plan on performing any. As Tulip mentioned: one year older, one year wiser.

Met Amy in the morning where she treated me to a breakfast of McGriddles. No idea what they were made of but damn were they good. Got 2 t-shirts that her mum bought for me (awesome stuff) which I intend to wear to make myself look more 19. She couldn't go out because her mum wouldn't let her and she had things to do. It's okay, there's always later in the week :) Lunch with my family was fantastic at Melt - The World Cafe. Standard fare there was most scrumptious, as per their usual high standards and I stuffed myself so full a python would have been nervous. Went to meet Audrey and Yiming for their dinner treat at PS some time later and it was just a most enjoyable outing with just us 3 having fun together. We've grown much closer of late, which is no bad thing at all. I definitely want it to last. They presented me with this photo frame which contained a shot of 3 of us together taken at dinner some time back. Awesome.

Today has been the most enjoyable and indeed deeply moving birthday I've ever had. It also is the first time my friends have actually arranged something for me, a meal of some sort. Even though it wasn't anything elaborate, I don't think I would have missed it for the world/Bahrain Grand Prix, which is about the same thing. It was just such fun. 

On a more sombre note about the Bahrain Grand Prix, I've just learned that Lewis Hamilton scored a miserable 13th place to put the Englishman 5 points behind Raikkonen in the drivers' championship scoring, after a bad start and a collision with a certain Fernando Alonso. Robert Kubica, though on pole for qualifying, took home a very respectable 3rd place, with Kimi on 2nd and Massa rounding off the top. An apparently good race from Massa who did well to open up a good lead from Kimi early on. Seems like the BMWs are troubling both Ferrari and McLaren this season. 

Super tired and a super long day tomorrow. Gonna sleep happy today though.

Birthday!

Remember this day, people.

The 6th of April is when the author of this blog was born. 

I'm really so happy that tomorrow I'll be having breakfast with Amy, lunch at Melt the World Cafe at Mandarin in Suntec with my parents, then later at night with my two best pals in school at Plaza Sing. Dunno what those two goons have cooked up for me, I need to wait and see. For the first time, my friends are actually celebrating my birthday for me and with me. It's strange, yeah, but for the past few years I was quite a loner. Still am though, just that I met two great people who bothered to celebrate it for a loner like me =D.

Well then. 19 years of age, one year older (and supposedly wiser) and a whole bunch of baggage left over from the year past. I do hope that the sheer enjoyment and ecstasy of spending the day so nicely will just remove all that I've been burdened with.

19 years of age, baby. WOOHOO.

Eighth Heaven

Can't believe it just happened.

My da jie just got me 13 months' subscription of Top Gear magazine, UK edition. I am shocked and stunned and ELATED into silence. It's like the big Man Himself came down from above and gave me 13 months' subscription of Top Ge -- hold on, it did happen. Jeez I can't believe it. 

THANK YOU DA JIE!

Didn't go to work today. Ponned because I didn't feel like it and after bawling my eyes out yesterday I felt better and oddly enough, more in control. I think that I was really stressed for the past few days and that coupled with my newfound outlook on life (no really, I do have a new one) just made me break down. Yeah I don't mind telling you that I just had a big, unmanly cry last night. I called Joyce and Best and they were both lovely souls to hear me out. Really nice of them to do that for me. 

Maybe I should elaborate on my newfound outlook on life and how I acquired it. I recently went to Amy's granddad's funeral. It's the first wake I have gone to in recent memory and when I looked at the coffin and all the elaborate ornamentation, the entirety of it all just struck me and it hit home. Hard. During the day before, we were talking about her granddad and how weak he was and how anxious she was about his health. Little did I know that later in the night she would call me while I was at work and tell me her granddad had passed away that very same day. It just hit me so hard and I felt that a sort of emotional switch had been flicked inside of me and that made me realise how fast someone's existence in the sentient world that we live in could so fast be taken away so silently. It struck me so hard to see that life could be so transient at times. One minute there and then bam, the next minute with eyes shut and into another world, out of this earthly one. 

Then, yesterday, my mum came home with this huge rash covering her body. She had aches and pains all over and my dad wasted no time in rushing her down to the hospital. I called my dad from home sometime later and asked him how she was and he said that it was some kind of viral infection and that she might require hospitalisation if it came to that (thankfully it didn't). But when I put the phone down, everything - the stress over the past few days and all - came crashing over me like a giant tsunami after a huge earthquake, and I started crying. I never had felt such sadness before. I knew the worry for my mum was an almost-irrational one because I knew with a certain degree of surety that she would be okay, she'd be home in no time and I didn't have to worry myself sick. But I couldn't stop thinking: what if she's not okay? What if it's worse than what the doc said? What if something happened and I wasn't there? What if? What if? What if?

I'm changing now. With one or two exceptions, I realise that I have not been treating the people around me with the care, respect and concern that they deserve. Friends, family alike, it doesn't matter. What matters now is that I show them the compassion and concern that I have failed in giving them all this while. It is something I think that almost demands to be performed. 

Because giving is always better than receiving. 

Nothing to blog about, so I shall...

Yeah there's really nothing much to blog about now, unless you want to hear more griping about work :P

Waiting for JEROLD to call me back. I'm in school now, pecking away on my laptop and wondering when the hell he will. Was reading a couple of interesting articles on CNN.com. The price of oil just dropped $5, did you know that? Not exactly a mind-blowing amount when you read that it's now $100.86 a barrel. Still, a far cry it is from last week when prices rocketed to $112 a barrel. It is scary to see such figures translate directly to those displayed outside your local gas station. Now everyone wants to buy a Prius because we don't have diesel cars in Singapore. Just great, LTA. Put a high premium on cars that could potentially save drivers from future bankruptcy, why don't you.

Ah sian sian sian. Why does every day have to start at 0900 and end at 1200 when all we do is come to school, wait till 12 and then go for lunch. Honestly the only useful thing that we have done so far for this entire attachment period is have lunch every day. Other than the occasional training session, the rest of the days spent are rubbish. For God's sake give us something to do! Is it that hard to follow the schedule that you yourself have drawn up? You yourself said that you'd take over the training but so far all I see is a puff of smoke. 

No wonder I want to start school early.

Work, work, work your ass off

As Clint Eastwood would have said it "your ass is mine", mine really was my boss's today as she hosed me down with some choice words of pure malice which I didn't take to too kindly. Imagine your mother in a state of pure agitation and amp that up by a factor of ten. You'll then get my boss's mood today after further finding out that answer to the power of ten.

 Me being me, I didn't give up without firing a few parting shots back over her bow. What a bitch. I'm not making it up. I mean REALLY bitchy. And to top it all off, it wasn't even my fault, I promise faithfully.

Worked two jobs today back to back - TCC in the afternoon and 7-Eleven in the night. Totally exhausted. Gonna go read my Top Gear magazine now. My only retreat for now. My sole solace.

My First Time

Broke a standee during work today. You know those little signs on the table telling you the month's special? Yeah I dropped that and broke it. Ironically 1. the first thing I break isn't glass, 2. it wasn't on a hard floor (on carpet actually). What the hell. Someone left her name and cellphone number on the receipt she left behind for me to call. No really. Since I was the only guy working there I deduce that she meant that for me. And I was working at the smaller TCC outlet at Bugis. There were only 4 girls and 1 guy, i.e. yours truly, so that narrows the search field further. "Hi I'm ________ (forgot name). My handphone number is _______ (forgot number). I'm single and available."

I'm gonna get laid!

Lunched with Best at Ajisen Ramen at Taka. Nice food, service could obviously be improved. The Audi R8 and S8 were both displayed outside Taka and that drew crowds no end. Obviously everyone went for the R8 because ooh it's sleek and so sexy. But no-one went for the V-10 S8 cos it's anodyne and so unremarkable. Me being me, I went for the S8 because that represents a totally different breed of car. A Terminator in sheep's clothing. Helen Mirren in a leather rompus suit. Bill Gates in a strip club getting it on with the hookers. That engine has more horsepower and more torque than the R8's, stuffed into a completely standard Audi A8 chassis and I can safely bet most of the idiots crowding over the R8 didn't know that. Ah but well, no-one can resist the lure of a perfectly well-balanced supercar - the R8. Sent Best back home after some proper, quality time out which cheered me up immensely before work.

Something happened which I prefer not to say out of respect and deference for the person who has had to go through such a painful and traumatising experience. I'd just want to say that although we live our days out like there's no tomorrow, the fact is that it very well could be just that. For some people, there just isn't any tomorrow. People die and people live, and sometimes for the living it's the only thing in the world which can break even the strongest man.

Life as we know it, is transient. It will never last long, no matter what scientists invent to prolong it. The thin line between death and life will always be there and we should make ourselves aware of it.

Because you never know when you might cross the line.

Ass, Idiot, Moron

Work Makes You Tired.

Work Is Dangerous.

Work Dissolves Grey Matter.

Work is a peril.

Work Kills. 

Work Makes Your Arms Ache.

Work Makes You Hungry.

Just got back from work. Hope you noticed the time on this entry cos it sure as hell ain't early. Or late. Depending how you want to look at it. The company bus drive got completely lost going to my house and when we got there we conveniently sailed past my house because he was on the phone and didn't hear me screaming TURN RIGHT TURN RIGHT. Brings "so near yet so far" to a whole new dimension. I was practically at my house already for goodness' sake. Next time hand me the wheel.

Saw a Lamborghini Gallardo boom past in a bass rumble of V-10 thunder after work. That's what I call proper motoring. Not some second-rate Corolla with a bit of bodykit and fancy rims slapped on. Italian cavallini any day.

Last day of work tomorrow before I rest me poor aching arms and settle down for the rest of the week. I seem to be talking a lot about work these few days right. Probably because I feel quite strongly about it. Joyce seems to be enjoying herself at her outlet and I think I am too. The people here and nice, friendly, very understanding and totally forgiving toward a rookie like myself, even though I did give a shot at attempting a Lewis Hamilton-style takeover of the joint and shocking everyone.

Alas.

Audrey has taken it upon herself to give 3 of us nicknames. I shall let you guess which. 

TCC

I had missed my last bus but thankfully I made it home alive. Without some strange man following me. Nah just kidding.

I can't even begin to describe how exhausted I am. Not only because of work but also because I missed my last bus and that made me walk so long just to take another someplace else, possibly Mexico by the looks of it. Speaking of work, Best came by with her friend and smirked at me and Bert and Jerold also came by and smirked at me. Smirks aside, those visits genuinely helped calm me down in some unknown way and thanks to you three wonderful people who all actually took the effort to come down and see me at work. I am so appreciative of that.

Work's been very tiring but very rewarding. You really have to learn quick in order to adapt and improvise, just as Clint Eastwood said in Heartbreak Ridge. Bah whatever. I'm completely plonked out.

Ouch

I'm aching like crap all over. Thank you Yiming for dragging me to the gym and torturing my aching muscles further by dousing me in the swimming pool for a coupla laps. I'm hurting in parts of my body I really never knew existed.

Work yesterday was crazy. For the first 3 hours it felt like I was descending through the 7 circles of hell, but it became more pleasant after that because I think I got into the groove of things and then I just started to do things right. Still the odd hiccup here and there but it was all great. The learning curve was so steep it was practically vertical, I tell you. 20 minutes of training and after that bye-bye, you're on your own (though I hadn't wished it were so because I was trained by this really hot chick). Tomorrow's my next shift and I'm pretty nervous about it because since it's my second day on the job they expect me to make less mistakes. I fear :S.

Wish me luck and do visit me, people.

Power (Metal)!

I suppose it is a bit late to be acknowledging this but thanks goes to Bert for introducing me to Dragonforce and all their Pac-Man music. Not exactly thew-thew-thew music but they used to create in-game music for several games, and their music is heavily influenced by that. Suffice to say their songs are really good if you can appreciate it and I do, albeit being an amateur. At least when I'm bored I listen to Operation Ground and Pound and I feel alive again. Bring on the Pac Man.

Podcasted at Reddot Traffic down Maxwell Road yesterday cos GT was closed. That place is a horror to find, especially if the taxi driver misheard it as Middle Road. Middle. Maxwell. Mellllll. Maybe he heard that instead. He was kind enough to reset the meter otherwise I would have ended up paying $10 frigginating bucks for a taxi ride that would have cost no more than $6. And I won't tell you where I got lost until I had to take a cab. You'd laugh till your sides burst, I tell you.

Went out with the guys after that to Purvis Street for cheeken rise. Quite excellent but the damn chicken was too bony and I kept getting bits of bone crap stuck in between my teeth. It It was a good feeling to be together again, just the 4 of us crapping about and being a nuisance wherever we go. Speaking of being a nuisance, we did live up to our expectations when we went to the foodcourt at Bugis with our pre-bought drinks at Cold Storage and were promptly chased out by the manager after 20 minutes because "no outside food and/or drinks are allowed". Screw him. Bumped into Audrey and TYM aka the Other Two Musketeers before that, paktor-ing as usual.

OH yes I got my job at TCC! I'm so elated. Now I can stop worrying about the lack of funds because guess what: they're paying me $5.50 an hour! Screw 7-Eleven! But the tradeoff - for me at least - is ungodly working hours. They do have transport to send you home though, so that's a good thing. Monday's the orientation/training and Joyce and I are gonna go together. Excited and nervous at the same time. Wish me luck!

228th post!

Same old bored-to-tears day today except for some fun times. Clean room in the morning as usual with Weller and I fiddling stupidly with diskettes aka 65 million-year-old tetnologee, as Gilbert put it. Pathetic really. For a technology so 21st-century, the least they could give us is some equipment at least belonging to the 20th century. But oh no the fees we pay SP obviously aren't enough and so we remain trapped in the dinosaur age where 3.5-inch floppies were all the rage. Screw them.

Went jogging with Audrey and Yiming and then went for dinner with them after that to Makansutra at Esplanade. Mr. Tay was nice enough to treat us all to dinner, which wasn't cheap mind you. Real naise of him to treat both of us. All 3 of us had really a great time. It's quite a pleasant feeling knowing that you're among friends who really treasure you and really mean something to you, and I think that's what's been happening recently. For whatever reason we've grown closer during these few weeks of holiday. I'd say especially Audrey and I. To be quite honest we never saw eye to eye on certain matters and weren't as friendly toward each other, but it's changed dramatically recently. It's a good feeling this, and I do wish it wouldn't go away.

Some inane stuff from Best's blog about me. She's really gone off her rocker on this one:


OMG HOW ABOUT BESTEST?

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Wong Kaiyi!

1. Wong Kaiyi can drink over 25 gallons of water at a time.
2. A lump of Wong Kaiyi the size of a matchbox can be flattened into a sheet the size of a tennis court.
3. It takes more than 500 peanuts to make Wong Kaiyi!
4. Wong Kaiyi can taste with his feet.
5. Wong Kaiyi has 118 ridges around the edge.
6. You should always store Wong Kaiyi in an airtight container in the fridge.
7. Wong Kaiyi is physically incapable of sticking his tongue out!
8. Britain's Millennium Dome is more than double the size of Wong Kaiyi.
9. Wong Kaiyi will often rub up against people to lay his scent and mark his territory.
10. It is bad luck to walk under Wong Kaiyi.